How to find out the specifications of your computer

How to find out the characteristics of a Windows PC

If your PC is running Windows, you can get information about the key parameters of the computer in the following ways:

1. "System Information"

The easiest way to get basic information about your computer's properties is through the standard "System Information" utility. To do this, right-click on the shortcut or in the "Computer" ("My Computer") window in "Explorer" and select "Properties". Or press the keyboard shortcut Win + Pause / Break. The window that opens will display information about the type of processor, the amount of RAM, and miscellaneous system information.

2. "Device Manager"

"Device Manager" provides complete and detailed information about internal and external PC components, from sound cards and disc drives to monitors and printers.

You can open this utility from the "System Information" window by clicking "Device Manager" in the side menu. All components are categorised here. By clicking on a specific item, all information about it is displayed.

3. Speccy

With Speccy, you get a more comprehensive set of data than in the built-in utilities, which are also more conveniently displayed. Among them: 

• OS version;
• characteristics of the processor, RAM, storage;
• the name of the motherboard, video and sound cards;
• monitor;
• list of peripherals;
• network information, etc.

All you need to do is install and run the program. Then you will see a compact summary of the main technical characteristics of the computer on the main screen. The side menu provides more detailed information about each device.

4. Dxdiag

This diagnostic tool will show you all the details about Windows OS and computer components: model, number of processor cores, amount of RAM, type of graphics adapter, and much more.

To view the required information, just press the "Win + R" key combination, type "Dxdiag" and click "Ok" or "Enter".

How to view your macOS computer's settings 

1. About this Mac

To get general information about your Mac's system, left-click on the apple icon in the upper left corner of the screen, then select "About this Mac" from the menu. The window that opens will display basic information such as macOS version, model name, processor type, RAM and graphics card. 

For more in-depth information about the macbook's components, click "More Info". This will open an intermediate window from which you can switch to display or storage settings. 

2. Mactracker

The free Mactracker app contains a comprehensive database of all Apple hardware models throughout the company's history and OS versions.

To view the specifications of your macbook, select "This Mac" from the side menu. In the window that opens, the corresponding tabs will display information categorised by category.

But Mactracker has one drawback: instead of analysing the hardware, it takes data from the catalogue, besides, it shows only standard models. As a result, memory or drive upgrades will not be shown in the summary.

3. System Report

If the previous information is not enough, click the ‘System Information’ button in the "About this Mac" window. After that, you will get the most detailed report about the computer's components.

How to find out the specs of your Linux computer

1. Utility HardInfo

If you have a Linux computer, it is convenient to view your PC's specifications through this application. HardInfo displays information about all installed components, from CPU and video card to expansion cards and USB.

HardInfo is included in most distributions and helps you to find information about your computer's specifications, the central PC, the Gnu / Linux kernel module, etc.

The programme appears in the "Administration" menu under the name "System and Test Information". If the utility is not available, it can be installed using the terminal command

sudo apt-get install hardinfo

2. Command lshw

Usually this utility is a part of distributions. If it is not available, you can install it with the command

sudo apt-get install lshw

To run this programme, type in terminal

sudo lshw

and confirm the action by entering the administrator password. For a shorter and more convenient data display, use the command

sudo lshw -short

Summary

Knowing the characteristics of your PC is an important step in the efficient use of your device, such as choosing compatible software or games, accurately monitoring performance and the need for component upgrades. Having this information will help you better understand your computer's capabilities and optimise its performance to suit your personal needs.